Memories in the Cooking

We invited professional chefs to teach my students for 3 sessions. This is one of the dishes that we learnt together. Ingredients:  - 2kg of boneless chicken thigh, cut into cubes  - corn starch (enough to coat the chicken thigh)  - vegetable oil (enough for shallow fry)  - 2 tablespoons light soya sauce - 2 tablespoons oyster sauce  - 2 tablespoons of honey  - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil  - pepper  - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of minced garlic  - white sesame seeds  Procedures:  1) Coat the chicken thigh cubes with corn starch.  2) In a pan, heat up vegetable oil for shallow fry.  3) Fry chicken thigh cubes until brown and crispy.  4) Drain away the excess oil.  5) In a bowl, mix light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, honey, minced garlic and pepper.  6) Pour the mixed sauce to the chicken. Stir well. Sprinkle white sesame seeds. Mix well. Serve.  

Sometimes, I do not have much time to cook during the workdays. So, we have pickled vegetables for dinner with other easy-to-make dishes.  Ingredients: - 1 large radish, cut into strips  - 3 Japanese cucumber, remove the soft core, cut into strips - 3 carrots cut into strips  - 1 bottle of sprite  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - 1 teaspoon of sugar  - a few slices of ginger  - 1 tablespoon of minced garlic  - 2 chili, chopped  - half of cup of white vinegar  Procedures: 1) In a big bowl, add radish, cucumber and carrot strips.  2) Add all other ingredients. Mix well. Adjust the taste to your liking using by adding more salt or sugar.  3) Let the vegetables soak for a day. Serve. 

I first ate this at my younger sister's place. It is a very simple and delicious rice dish.  Ingredients: - 4 cups of Japanese rice  - 250g of corn (can add more)  - soya sauce  - sake - salt  - 100g of butter  - ebiko Procedures:  1) Wash rice in rice cooker. Add 4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of soya sauce, 2 tablespoons of sake, 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook rice.  2) In a frying pan, melt butter. Add corn, add 2 tablespoons of soya sauce, add 1 teaspoon of salt.  3) When rice is cooked, top the rice with corn and ebiko rolls. Mix well before eating. 

This is the Chinese-style beef stew. It can be eaten with noodles like the Cantonese Beef Stew Noodles.  Ingredients:  - 1kg of beef shinn  - 1-2 white radish  - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 2 bay leaves  - 1 tablespoon of five-spice powder  - 1 dried chili  - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - 1 teaspoon of corn flour  Procedures: 1) Place beef shinn and radish in slow cooker.  2) Add light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, bay leaves, five-spice powder, dried chili and sugar.  3) Add water until it slightly covers the ingredients.  4) Cook at medium setting for 4 hours.  5) Add corn starch until it turns thick. 

I love to have chicken cutlet with creamy coleslaw. Here is one simple recipe for coleslaw.  Ingredients: - Coleslaw mixed vegetables (e.g cabbage, carrots, corn etc)  - 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise - 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt  - juice of 1 lemon  - 1 tablespoon of mustard  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - pepper  Procedures:  - Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, sugar, mustard,  and pepper in a mixing bowl.  - Add the coleslaw mixed vegetables. Mix well. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Serve. 

Similar to cumin lamb, I decided to make a grilled mix for this cumin baked chicken wings.  Ingredients: - 1kg of chicken wings  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - 1 teaspoon of cumin - 1 teaspoon of chili flakes  - 1 tablespoons of minced garlic  - vegetable oil  Procedures:  1) Marinate the chicken wings with salt, sugar, cumin, chili flakes, minced garlic and vegetable oil.  2) Bake the chicken wings for 1 hour at 180 degree celsius. 

This is a change to the usual butter steak that I regularly cook.  Ingredients: - 1kg of ribeye beef. Cut into cubes. - 3 tablespoons of soya sauce  - 3 bulbs of garlic, sliced - 1 tablespoon of mirin - 1 tablespoon of sake  - 2 tablespoons of sugar - salt (if needed)  Procedures:  1) Marinate beef cubes in soya sauce overnight.  2) Add garlic slices into a oven-proof bowl. Add vegetable oil into the garlic slices are covered. Cook it in oven at 180 degree celsius for 20 mins.  3) In a pan, add the garlic infused oil (without the garlic). Sear the beef until all sides are brown. Set it aside.  4) Add soya sauce marinate, mirin, roasted garlic, sake, sugar and salt to the pan. Cook until the sauce is reduced.  5) Add the beef and coat it in the sauce. Let the beef rest in a serving place. 

This dish tastes exactly like the Chinese Grilled Lamb Skewers. Just simpler to make!  Ingredients:  - 1.5kg of lamb leg (cut into cubes)  - few tablespoons ginger juice  - 3 egg whites  - 2 teaspoon of white pepper (to marinate meat and to make the seasoning) - 1 tablespoon cornstarch  - 1 tablespoon of cumin powder  - 3 tablespoons of white sesame seeds  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - 1 tablespoons of sugar  Procedures:  1) In a large mixing bowl, mix the diced lamb with ginger juice, egg whites, white pepper, cornstarch. Let it stand for a while.  2) In a pan, toast cumin powder, white sesame seeds, salt, sugar and pepper. Set it aside.  3) In a pan, add some cooking oil. Fry the lamb cubes until golden brown. This may take 20 mins. Drain away the excess oil.  4) Mix the cumin seasoning with the lamb cubes. Mix well and serve. 

I prepared a feast with many red meat (beef, lamb, duck) and needed a side dish that can cuts through the oily flavours. Hence, I decided to make this pickled onions dish as a side.  Ingredients:  - 5 large red onions  - 2 cups of water  - 2 cups of white rice vinegar  - 2/3 cup of sugar  - 2 tablespoons of salt  - 2 bay leaves.  Procedures:  1) Slice red onions. Place it in a large container.  2) In a pot, add water, white rice vinegar, sugar, salt and bay leaves. Boil until the sugar dissolves.  3) Pour the liquid mixture into the container until all the red onion slices are submerged.  4) Keep it overnight in a fridge.